Selina Kyle (New Earth)
, Cathy Whippes | Identity = Secret | Alignment = Neutral | Affiliation = Bat-Family; formerly Outsiders, Birds of Prey, Female Furies, Injustice League, The Society, and the Gotham City Sirens | Relatives = Brian Kyle (father, deceased);Maria Kyle (mother, deceased);Maggie Kyle (Sister Zero, sister);Helena Kyle (daughter); See Notes section for other possible relatives | Universe = New Earth; Earth-85 | BaseOfOperations = Gotham City | Gender = Female | Height = 5'7" | Weight = 138 lbs. | Eyes = Green | Hair = Black | UnusualFeatures = | Citizenship = American | MaritalStatus = Single | Occupation = Thief | Education = | Origin = | PlaceOfBirth = Gotham City | Creators = Bill Finger; Bob Kane | First = Detective Comics #569 | Last = Gotham City Sirens Vol 1 26 | Quotation = My world is all just shades of grey, Batman. That's why you'll never really understand me. | Speaker = Catwoman | QuoteSource = Catwoman Vol 3 1 | Overview = Selina Kyle is Catwoman, a costumed adventurer who's been both a super-hero and super-villain. Beginning her career as a thief and enemy to Batman, she later turned to crime-fighting and became part of the Batman Family. Despite her villainous nature, she works hard to protect the East End of Gotham City. | HistoryText = Early Life Selina Kyle's early life was defined by tragedy. When she was just a girl, her brutalized mother Maria committed suicide and her violent father Brian drank himself to death soon after. Selina was separated from her younger sister Maggie when remanded to the Sprang Hall Juvenile Detention Center, an abusive state home for orphaned or delinquent girls. Eventually, she escaped the Center and tried pickpocketing the crowd at a carnival outside Gotham City but failed. She was caught by the man who ran the place and he offered her to join the carnival. Selina agreed and soon she learned the art of contortionism, gymnastics, magic and trickery. Using her new learned skills, Selina also improved her pickpocketing skills. When the owner of the carnival died in a tragic accident, Selina decided to take her chances on the streets of Gotham, surviving as a petty thief. Origins Selina began working as a prostitute in the East End to get by. She watched over an underage girl named Holly Robinson while working for their abusive pimp Stan. After a particularly aggressive beating from Stan, Selina passed out near the Immaculate Virgin Mission, a nunnery where her sister Maggie served as a nun. She was sent to the hospital, where she was visited by Detective George Flannery. He took pity on her and told her of Ted Grant, a man who could teach her how to fight and defend herself. She met with Ted and he agreed to train her. Selina first met Bruce Wayne when he was walking through the East End and solicited by Holly. He rejected her advances and Stan berated Holly, causing Bruce to attack him. Fearing for Holly's safety, Selina approached and fought Bruce, but was knocked out. Later, she returned to Ted and asked him to train her in the use of the bullwhip. One night, Selina was woken up by the news that the Batman was being cornered by police in Robinson Park. She and Holly decided to see for themselves, and Selina saw firsthand Batman making his escape. Seeing Batman in action gave her the idea that she could become a creature of the night like him. Selina returned the beating Stan gave her and left him, taking Holly with her and declaring that she was changing her line of work. She fashioned her own costume, inspired by her love of cats, and began operating as a cat burglar: the Catwoman. On one of her first heists she robbed the home of mob boss Carmine Falcone and decided that, to distinguish herself, she would claw the faces of her victims, starting with Falcone. It was here that Batman saw her in action for the first time, and he left without saying a word. As Catwoman, she visited Maggie at the nunnery and the two sisters argued. After Selina left, Maggie was kidnapped by Stan, who was furious at Selina for defying him. Stan contacted Selina and told her that he had her sister. She tracked him down as Catwoman, finding him dangling Maggie off a ledge. Catwoman fought Stan and Maggie fell. Stan lost his balance in the struggle and fell to his death, while Maggie was rescued by Batman before she hit the ground. Some time later, Holly was beaten by a corrupt police officer, Ethan Strunk, prompting Catwoman to track him down. As she attacked Strunk she was stopped by Batman. He attempted to convince her to let the police deal with Strunk, but Catwoman retorted that Gotham's corrupt police force would never allow him to face justice. She kissed Batman before wounding his chest, allowing her to flee. Selina left Holly with Maggie to be raised with her in a convent. Following a distortion of the time stream, Selina's history as a prostitute was erased. Instead, she continued to survive on the streets as a thief. The Long Halloween Selina met an acquaintance, Bruce Wayne, at the wedding of Johnny Viti, a member of the Falcone Crime Family. The pair instantly hit it off, though Selina was unaware of Bruce's identity as Batman, or that he was the man she fought on the streets of the East End years earlier. Catwoman attempted to once again rob Carmine Falcone's penthouse that night, but was interrupted by Batman and the two were forced to flee. Falcone placed a bounty on both the Bat and the Cat, offering one million dollars to whoever could kill either one of them. When the Holiday Killer first struck in Gotham, Catwoman began her own investigation but was soon discovered by Batman. She offered her assistance in resolving the case, which Batman reluctantly accepted. Catwoman followed Batman from a distance as he unraveled the mystery, while in their civilian identities Selina grew closer with Bruce - until he fell under the mind control of Poison Ivy. Catwoman realized Ivy was responsible and rescued Bruce from her clutches. She later jumped in to assist Batman while he was fighting Scarecrow and the Mad Hatter. Catwoman joined the other 'costumed freaks', led by a newly-turned Two-Face, in confronting Falcone for control of Gotham City. This led Batman to question where her allegiances truly lied, to which Catwoman responded that she was on the same side as always: her own. Dark Victory and When in Rome Through her connections with the Falcones, Selina learned that the body of Carmine Falcone had gone missing. As Catwoman, she approached Sofia Falcone, the head of the Falcone Crime Family since her father's death, offering to retrieve Carmine's body in exchange for a million dollar fee. She tried to locate Falcone's corpse at the Gotham morgue, but was knocked out by the Riddler who tied her to the conveyor belt of the crematorium to be incinerated. She was rescued by Batman, who had been following her from a distance. Catwoman was infuriated by Batman's constant saving of her and hated the idea of being another 'damsel in distress' to him. Selina decided to leave Gotham and headed to Rome, seeking to further investigate the Falcones through their relatives in Italy. She took the Riddler with her, believing his genius could prove useful. Upon landing in Rome she was greeted by Christopher "The Blond" Castillo, a mobster who worked under Don Verinni, the 'boss of bosses' in the Italian mob. As Catwoman she attempted to interrogate Verinni but he died from ingesting Joker Venom before he could give her any answers. Verinni's son, Guillermo, placed a hit on both Selina and Catwoman (who he thought to be two separate, but related, people). Selina survived a number of attempts on her life, including one in which her attackers wielded Mister Freeze's Ice Gun. She also began having distressing nightmares, all featuring Batman. Possibly due to his attraction towards her, The Blond gave Selina, and Eddie by extension, his protection. He advised Selina to offer Guillermo something in exchange for him calling his forces off. Catwoman attempted to steal a ring that used to belong to the mob from Vatican City, but to her surprise she was attacked by the Cheetah. The Blond shot Cheetah with a tranquilizer before she could kill Catwoman, but she awoke and fled with the ring. Catwoman interrogated Guillermo and he gave her the location of Louisa Falcone, Carmine's ex-wife. Selina tracked her down and confessed to her that she believed she was in fact Carmine and Louisa's daughter, a suspicion that arose after she had found a photograph during her first heist at Carmine's home back in Gotham. Louisa denied that she had a daughter other than Sofia, and Catwoman left. After suffering from another nightmare, Selina realized that she was being subjected to Scarecrow's Fear Toxin. She discovered the Riddler was responsible for all of the attacks on her, and he had brought the Joker Venom, Freeze's gun, Cheetah and Scarecrow into the country. Just as Catwoman confronted the Riddler, the boat went up in flames. The Blond rescued Selina, and some time later informed her that Louisa had in fact given birth to another girl after Sofia. The girl was sent to the United States and given up for adoption. He had no evidence that the girl was Selina, but she believed herself to be Carmine and Louisa's daughter. Selina recovered the priceless ring she stole from the Vatican and returned to Gotham with no conclusive proof regarding her parentage. The Tin Roof Club Selina purchased a nightclub for extra income, calling it the Tin Roof Club. When she stole a priceless brooch and hid it with Holly, she began taking heat from other criminals. Upon visiting Holly in New Jersey to collect it, Holly's house exploded. Holly died in Selina's arms. Selina figured out that Holly's husband Arthur killed her so he could keep the brooch. Flannery helped Catwoman frame Holly's husband for murder, and he was sent to prison. Holly's death would later be undone by the aleration to the time stream, erasing this story. Catman accidentally released a tiger, and Catwoman was blamed for the deaths that resulted. In retaliation, she threw Catman off a roof and assaulted the reporter who accused her. Catwoman was then targeted by the white slave trade. Sarah Essen and Vicki Vale helped her take the slavers down when all three of them were captured. -461 Sorrow Street The disturbed Mister Handsome targeted Catwoman, as he had dedicated his life to destroying beauty. When she was caught, he caged her with a monster as a sick allegory to Beauty and the Beast. However, he was unable to crush her spirit, and she gracefully defeated him.Catwoman: Defiant Selina's neighborhood in Brideshead was taken over by a crimelord named Bracuda. Catwoman investigated his operation, as he had forced all of the legitimate shop-owners out. The corrupt cops on Bracuda's payroll got involved, and it turned into a riot. Catwoman fought Bracuda and forced him to flee, allowing her to take his valuable assets. Knightfall After Bane broke Batman's back, he started taking over the Gotham underworld. His henchmen tried to recruit Catwoman and have her work for Bane, but she refused the offer. Bane tried to learn Catwoman's identity, but she had hidden her birth name "Selina Kyle" behind dozens of aliases. Leopold sold her out. Catwoman's apartment was blown up by an assassin targeting Bane. The assassin fled to Santa Prisca, and she followed by hitching a ride on Bruce Wayne's private plane. Leopold told Catwoman that Bane had been defeated by a new Batman. Arizona was taken home by her parents, suffering from amnesia. Catwoman took out the assassin, inadvertently saving Santa Prisca's dictator. The dictator offered her protection, and she made a huge payload saving him from an attempted coup. When she returned to Gotham, she had Leopold killed for betraying her. After this, Catwoman became involved with a group of activists called The "Friends of the Earth Nature Magic Alliance". Working with them to prevent a terrorist attack, Catwoman stole a deadly toxic agent, which attracted the new Batman's attention. Catwoman realized that this was a different Batman and she tried to get away with the stolen chemicals, but the new Batman followed her all the way to a building in the middle of Gotham, where the police surrounded them, and Catwoman was left to confront them alone. Catwoman managed to escape and tipped off the location of the chemical agent to the police, after which she used Batman to distract the terrorists and claim a victory for her own agenda. Later, Catwoman tried to steal cybernetic enablers from the corrupt businessman Penn Selkirk. She needed the technology in order to save a friend who was hospitalized and so Catwoman tried to steal from him, but she was captured and taken to his penthouse, where she broke free and tried to learn the truth behind Selkirk's business, until she was stopped by a manic Batman. Adding to her confusion, a second Batman appeared and challenged the first Batman for the rights to claim the mantle of the bat. The fight of the Batmen was used as a distraction by Selkirk, who tried to escape on his private helicopter, but Catwoman managed to get on the chopper and prevented his escape. The helicopter crashed on top of a bridge and Catwoman was knocked unconscious. She was rescued by Batman and she realized that the real Batman had returned. Together, they rescued Selkirk and his men, but the hood tossed away the neural enabler, forcing Catwoman's hand. Selina allowed the police to take Selkirk and later, she went looking for the neural enabler at the bottom of the river. She located it and after one final confrontation with Selkirk, she delivered the enabler to the hospital, where it was most needed. Contagion When the Apocalypse Virus broke out in Gotham, Catwoman was hired by the Penguin to track down a survivor named Kendall Stuart. She was forced to team up with Azrael and Robin against a bounty hunter named Tracker. They finally grabbed Stuart, but he was assassinated by the Order of St. Dumas. The group teamed up to find another survivor named Fong, but he killed himself when he met them. Catwoman tracked down the last survivor alone, a student named Leanore We in Miami, and dragged her back to Gotham. It was discovered that survivor blood was useless, but Leanore wanted to help anyway. Catwoman was inspired by this, and stayed to help until a cure is found. Catwoman was stealing from a mall when the 7.6 earthquake hit. Despite her selfish inclinations, she worked hard to bring everyone to safety. While patrolling the city to stop looters, she met Poison Ivy. Ivy tried to control the vulnerable city with plants, and Catwoman barely managed to stop her. Trail of the Catwoman When a job went wrong in Morocco, Selina ran out of money and had to return to Gotham. To build up her funds, she planned a huge heist on a train owned by Frank Falcone. Her accomplices included Falcone's prostitute Chantel, retired gunman Jim Stark, a grifter named Jeff, and her fence Swifty Burgess.Catwoman: Selina's Big Score Mayor Dickerson hired Slam Bradley to track her down, but Selina convinced him to leave her alone. -762 The heist went wrong when Falcone was tipped off, and everybody died except Selina. Slam tried to stop her from escaping with the money, and she shot him in the shoulder before lighting him a cigarette. Selina became fed up with the glamorous lifestyle she had been leading since becoming wealthy through her exploits as Catwoman, and felt she had strayed from her original path of looking out for others. She decided to move back to her childhood home of Gotham's East End and fight for the cast-offs of society. She was surprised to find her old friend Holly Robinson at her safe house in the East End. Holly had given up life as a nun and was back working on the streets, and she informed Selina that someone was killing prostitutes in the local area. Catwoman managed to track down the murderer, a man named Todd Russell with powers identical to those of Clayface. She restrained him in a freezer and left him for Batman to deal with. Selina also recruited Holly to work for her undercover on the streets, with the aim of Holly acting as her eyes and ears. Holly's undercover work came to a halt when she was shot after witnessing the murder of an undercover police officer by other officers. Selina was determined to get to the bottom of the situation and recruited Slam Bradley to help her investigate. They discovered that a selection of corrupt police officers were operating in the East End, and they had since framed Holly as the murder suspect. After destroying a van containing hundreds of pounds of pure heroin, Catwoman exposed the officers' crimes, leading to their arrests and clearing Holly's name in the process. Unbeknownst to Selina, the officers had been working for the Black Mask, who vowed to exact his revenge on Catwoman. Relentless Using millions of dollars worth of stolen funds, Selina anonymously funded the building of a community center in the East End, hoping to provide something positive for the community. She noticed an increase in the number of children stealing on the streets, and followed one of the children to their hideout - the same place Selina had operated from during her own childhood as a thief. There, she discovered her childhood friend Sylvia Sinclair, who had recently been released from a lengthy prison sentence, leading the operation. Many years ago, during her early career as Catwoman, Selina assisted Sylvia on a heist. However, the duo accidentally set off an alarm notifying the police, and Catwoman was forced to abandon Sylvia in order to escape herself, which had led to Sylvia's imprisonment. To her surprise, Selina's sister Maggie and her husband Simon arrived in Gotham to pay her a visit. They joined her at the grand opening of the community center. As Catwoman looked over the building at night, it was destroyed in an explosion. Catwoman followed the bombers escaping the scene, who informed her that they had been paid to do the job. Before they could reveal the individual's identity, they were shot by a sniper. That same night, Simon, Maggie's husband, went missing. During a search to find him, Maggie also vanished, and Holly was almost hit by a car had it not been for Slam Bradley's intervention. Following a lead, Catwoman tracked down crimelord Xavier Dylan, who revealed that he had orchestrated the events at the request of the Black Mask, and with the aid of Sylvia Sinclair. Selina realized Sylvia still resented her over the failed heist, and had co-operated with Black Mask to get revenge. Catwoman tracked down Black Mask at his hideout, and discovered Holly tied up with Sylvia pointing a gun at her head. Demanding to see her sister, Catwoman was chained up in a room where she discovered Maggie had been violently tortured and her husband Simon killed. Distracting Black Mask and Sylvia with a bomb she had planted prior to her capture, Catwoman managed to break free and quickly bested Sylvia in a fight, before turning her attentions to Black Mask. In the struggle, Catwoman kicked Black Mask off the balcony of the building, where he fell to his apparent death. Sylvia, having regained consciousness, attempted to shoot Catwoman but was shot and killed by Holly. Maggie was left insane after the torture she had been subjected to, and had to be committed to a psychiatric institution. Wild Ride Selina decided to take Holly to be trained in martial arts by Ted Grant, also known as the superhero Wildcat, who had trained Selina during her early days as Catwoman. At night, Catwoman and Wildcat went on patrol and came across a group of mysterious assassins who had attempted to steal a statue of a cat from a secret temple before they all disintegrated into dust. Catwoman interacted with the statue and was blasted with a beam of energy, injuring her. She and Wildcat returned home and Holly continued with her training. Following a lead from Slam Bradley, Selina traveled to Keystone City and came across Captain Cold. Catwoman agreed to assist Cold with a heist to steal Jay Garrick's helmet in exchange for the address of a man she was tracking. They managed to steal the helmet and Cold gave Catwoman the address. She followed the address to Opal City. At night, Selina decided to explore the city as Catwoman and ran into the assassins once again. She fought them off with the help of Bobo Bennetti, before they dissolved. Selina received a tip from Slam that her target had been found in St. Roch, and she traveled there with Ted and Holly. They ran into Carter Hall and Kendra Saunders, A.K.A. Hawkman and Hawkgirl. Carter was able to give Selina some information on the assassins that were following her; they were members of an ancient Egyptian cult called the Beti-Ma that worshipped the cat goddess Bast. That night, Selina had Hawkgirl fly her and Holly to a restaurant where Holly's long-lost brother Davey was working and they were reunited. Selina and Slam had decided to track him down after Selina realized the importance of family following the tragedy involving her sister Maggie. Hush Catwoman crossed paths with Batman once again after she made off with a briefcase containing ten million dollars which had been paid as ransom money to Killer Croc. While Batman was fighting him, Catwoman escaped with the briefcase, prompting Batman to chase after her. During the chase, Batman's wire was cut, causing him to fall to the ground and allowing Selina to return to the hideout of Poison Ivy, who had mind controlled her into stealing the money. When Catwoman regained her senses, she met Batman again and offered her assistance in tracking down Ivy, who had relocated to Metropolis. She flirted with Batman and, for once, he gave into his attraction towards her and the two shared a passionate kiss. Batman and Catwoman both found the whereabouts of Poison Ivy. Catwoman confronted her first, but called for Batman's assistance using a button he had given her. Together, the duo fought Ivy, until she revealed her own secret weapon: a mind-controlled Superman. The two managed to escape, and quickly hatched up a plan to restore Superman's mind. Batman stalled Superman and lured him to the street, while Catwoman kidnapped Lois Lane and dropped her from the roof of the Daily Planet. In that moment, Superman was able to resist Ivy's mind control and rushed to save Lois. Batman, Catwoman and Superman tracked down Poison Ivy and had her arrested. Catwoman and Batman returned to Gotham, and shortly afterwards Selina attended the opera with Bruce - though the show was crashed by Harley Quinn. Selina and Bruce both changed into their costumes and Catwoman aided Batman in fighting Harley, but was shot. Doctor Leslie Thompkins cared for Selina's injury while Harley led Batman to the Joker. Batman almost strangled the Joker in a furious rage, and Catwoman tried to prevent him from doing something he'd later regret. Batman subdued her by exploiting her bullet wound, and once again attempted to kill the Joker, fearing that he would one day come for Selina as he had Barbara Gordon and Jason Todd. Batman was only restrained by Commissioner Gordon pulling a gun on him. Following a conversation with Nightwing, Bruce was inspired to let Selina closer into his life and tell her about his true identity as Batman. Batman met with Catwoman at the Gotham Zoo and took off his mask. Bruce entrusted Selina to watch over Talia al Ghul while he confronted her father Ra's, who he believed to be behind his misfortunes as of late. The assassin Lady Shiva came to retrieve Talia on behalf of the League of Assassins, prompting Catwoman to fight Shiva. She was no match for the master assassin and was almost killed, had it not been for Talia's intervention. Catwoman returned to the Batcave with Batman and was attacked by Robin who was seemingly furious at her being let into Bruce's life; Selina was unaware that this was a ruse meant to test how she would react, and Tim was in fact accepting of Bruce's decision. She was later attacked by Huntress, who had been exposed to Scarecrow's Fear Toxin, and rescued Robin from Clayface, who had disguised himself as a revived Jason Todd. After Batman's defeat of Hush and the Riddler, who had orchestrated the entire ordeal, Catwoman met Batman as he mourned the death of Harold Allnut. Bruce began to doubt his mental clarity after a suggestion from Scarecrow that his mind had been manipulated, and questioned Selina's true intentions. Selina replied that until he learned to truly trust her they could never be together, and left Bruce alone. Crisis of Conscience Catwoman further proved herself as an ally of Batman when she fought alongside him and the League against the old Secret Society, of which she had once briefly been a member. Wounded, she was taken to the Batcave to recover. When Despero and a faction of brainwashed League members infiltrated the cave and succeeded in brainwashing Batman, Catwoman was able to send a distress call out to the unaffected League members. After a fierce struggle, Despero was subdued. However, this was something of a hollow victory, since all recognized that Despero was able to pit the JLA members against one another by drawing upon pre-existing animosities and distrust. In response to Batman's inquiry about her wounds, Selina departed the Batcave after curtly informing Batman that he had already "done enough." Catwoman appeared to be completely reformed for a time and her love for Batman true (although brash and unpredictable). However, it became unclear if her reformation was of her own volition or the result of a mindwipe by Zatanna, a procedure known to deeply affect and, in at least one case, physically incapacitate its victims. Selina had no inkling that any villains had been mindwiped until Batman informed her otherwise, worried that her reformation may be due to mental manipulation. The One You Love An influx of supervillains seized control of the East End, leaving Selina with no choice but to join the new incarnation of the Secret Society. While her initial intentions were unclear, Selina shared her plans to infiltrate and destroy the cadre of East End villains with Batman. Selina made a deal with a former criminal who had powers similar to Clayface that had promised to help her in exchange for his freedom. The man impersonated her, and allowed several villains to shoot and dismember him, giving the impression to the underworld that Catwoman was really dead (like Clayface, the man was able to survive what would otherwise be fatal wounds). Capitalizing upon the advantage which her "resurrection" provided her (the villains believing she had somehow managed to cheat death), Catwoman dismantled the new East End cadre of criminals, one villain at time. After she was done, Zatanna appeared at her side, informing her that she had some "bad news". Selina ended up shooting Black Mask while dealing with the East End criminals. One Year Later Selina Kyle was no longer Catwoman. She left the East End, and gave birth to a daughter named Helena. Holly Robinson took over as the new Catwoman while Selina, living under the alias Irena Dubrovna, turned her attention to caring for her daughter. Though she took her role as a new mother quite seriously, Selina donned the costume for a run through the East End some days after Helena's birth. Having understandably gained a few pounds, Selina found that her costume is now a tighter fit. In addition, she was easily distracted by a common criminal. Although the situation was defused through Holly's opportune arrival, the fact that there were two Catwomen active in the city was caught on video. Selina returned home from her adventure to find that the mysterious movie aficionado Film Freak had deduced her alias. Joined by Angle Man, they grabbed Helena. After rescuing her daughter, Selina convinced Zatanna to mind-wipe Film Freak and Angle Man in order to preserve her secret identity. Following the procedure, Angle Man turned himself in to the authorities; Film Freak, however, embarked upon a murderous rampage. Ted Grant informed Selina that Holly had been arrested for the murder of Black Mask; Selina infiltrated the police station and freed Holly. Finally defeating Film Freak, Selina returned home to find that Slam Bradley had deduced that Helena was Sam Bradley's child, and therefore his granddaughter. Batman asked Catwoman to infiltrate the violent tribe of Bana Amazons during their attack. Posing as a criminal, Selina gained the Bana's trust and thwarted a terror attack aimed at causing mass casualties in Gotham City. Shortly afterwards, Selina invited herself to become the newest member of Batman's Outsiders. Catwoman and Batman also had a romantic relationship which they both tried to hide. Heart of Hush and Battle for the Cowl Catwoman joined Batman on a mission to capture Dr. Aesop, but their mission was interrupted by the unexpected interference of Hush. After this, Selina went to talk to Zatanna about Bruce, who advised her to follow her feelings and act before it was too late. Later that night, Selina was attacked in her apartment by Hush. After a brief fight in which she had the upper hand, Hush managed to stab her in the stomach and took her to the Sacred Heart Convalescent Home, where he performed a surgery and removed her heart from her body. Selina was later taken to the Gotham General Hospital, where Batman learned of her condition. While Batman went looking for Hush to recover her heart, Dr. Mid-Nite and Mr. Terrific went to the hospital to make sure that Selina's life was out of danger until Batman's return. In the meantime, Batman learned that Hush placed Selina's heart on a machine created by Mr. Freeze and that he was capable of killing her at any moment. After Batman recovered her heart, Dr. Mid-Nite and Mr. Terrific were in charge of the surgery which was a success, and Zatanna appeared in Selina's dream to ask forgiveness for not warning her about Hush's incoming attack. During her recovery post-surgery, Selina was visited by Bruce, who told her that she was the only woman to have ever held his heart and that he will always love her. Selina and Bruce shared a brief reconciliation, after which Selina started planning her vengeance against Hush. With help from Oracle, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Slam Bradley and Holly Robinson, she managed to acquire the entire fortune of the Elliot family, leaving Hush broke and defeated. Some time later, Selina learned that Hush was impersonating Bruce Wayne and she tracked him down to Vietnam, where she used some hired help to capture him. After torturing Hush for a few days, she delivered him to Nightwing and Robin to be taken back to Gotham. On her way out of Vietnam, Catwoman disbanded a group of poachers, freed several exotic animals and used a helicopter to escape. A short time later, Selina returned to Gotham and resumed her activities as Catwoman after Batman's death. While keeping criminals off the streets, she spotted Batman jumping across the rooftops of Gotham, something that would be impossible due to the recent events. She followed Batman to a make-shift Batcave underneath an abandoned subway system, where she discovered that it was Tim Drake, wearing one of Bruce's batsuits. Catwoman saved him from a dangerous fall, but after discovering that the place was used as base of operations by a Batman impostor, she was knocked unconscious by this man. Catwoman recovered after the attack and continued her work on the streets, trying to bring criminals to justice. However, she was very tired and as a result she couldn't stand against them. After failing to capture Firefly, Catwoman was left in shock when she spotted Black Mask, the man she killed. Later, she was confronted by the Batman Impostor and after a quick fight, she was knocked unconscious. When she recovered, she found herself surrounded by Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy and the The Riddler. Gotham City Sirens Selina, fearing the many dangers of a post-Batman Gotham, proposed that she, Ivy, and Harley Quinn team up, living together at a single base. Ivy agreed under one condition: using home-grown drugs to weaken Selina's resistance, Ivy demanded to know the identity of the true Batman. Time spent with Talia three years ago in Tibet had prepared Selina so would not relinquish the true identity of Batman under any circumstances. After the interrogation, Selina saw Harley with Bruce Wayne on TV. Catwoman told Poison Ivy she knew it was Hush in disguise. Blackest Night When the black rings came to Earth, Selina was attacked by Black Mask after being resurrected as a member of the Black Lantern Corps. After he told her that he planned on getting an emotional response before killing her, Selina stole a car and headed to the mental institution where Maggie was held, believing Black Mask is coming for her. Black Mask attacked the institution, and awoke Maggie from her coma. Selina arrived in time to help her sister flee into the sewers. While on the run, Maggie angrily told Selina that she ruined both of their lives the day she decided to become Catwoman. Devastated by her sister's statement, Selina failed to realize they were headed for a trap. Just as Black Mask was about to gouge Maggie's eyes out and shove them down Selina's throat, Harley and Ivy arrived and defeated the Black Lantern by trapping him in the stomach of a man-eating plant. Selina was helped to her feet by her friends, who told her that Maggie had fled the scene. The next day, the staff members of the mental institution were discussing Maggie's escape, also mentioning that a nun that works at the hospital had been found beaten and stripped of her uniform. Maggie was in the depths of the Gotham City sewers, clad in the bloodied nun robes, muttering about her plan to kill Catwoman in order to free Selina's soul. Now calling herself Sister Zero, Maggie attempted to kill Selina, but ultimately fled after being defeated by the Sirens. Her unhinged mind realized that she could not murder her own sister, and therefore had to instead personally exorcise the "cat demon" from within Selina's body. Return of Bruce Wayne After stealing the contents of a safe belonging to the Falcone crime family, Selina returned home to find Kitrina, a teenaged escape artist and Alberto Falcone's long lost daughter, breaking into her room. She attacked and subdued Kitrina, who told Selina that she had unknowingly stolen a map that detailed the location of the new Black Mask's underground bunker. Realizing that she could use the map to capture Black Mask and claim the 50 million dollar bounty on his head, Selina left Kitrina bound in a locked room so that she could keep the map for herself. She later called Batman to her house in order to turn the would-be thief over to the police, but discovers that Kitrina had managed to free herself and steal back the map. This impresses Selina, who mentioned that she had tied up the child using an "inescapable" knot that Bruce had shown her years earlier. Following a massive battle with Black Mask and his henchmen (which ended with neither woman being able to claim the bounty), Selina agreed to take on Kitrina as her new sidekick, Catgirl. Selina was soon contacted by the mysterious Insider, who asked her to follow Vicki Vale and discover how much she knew about Batman and his allies' secret identities. With some help from Harley and Ivy, Selina finally got the evidence to prove that Vale was right about to discover the truth not only about Batman, but of the Gotham underground as well. After giving the required information to Insider, he subtlety revealed his true identity and Selina realized that Bruce Wayne had returned. Some time later, the Sirens helped Zatanna put out a massive fire at a local park near their home, only to be ambushed by a creature made of mud. After being dragged underneath the soil by the creature, Catwoman awoke bound and gagged on the floor of a dark room, and was quickly forced into an illusion by her unseen captors. Back in reality, Talia revealed to the Sirens that just a few hours prior, an unknown benefactor had offered up a massive reward to whoever could kidnap and deliver Catwoman to him, with the hopes that he could penetrate her mind and learn Batman's secret identity. Before the knowledge could be ripped from her mind, Selina's captors (Shrike and a new villain named Sempai), were eventually defeated by the other Sirens. Once Selina was freed, Talia ordered Zatanna to wipe Bruce's identity from her memory, reasoning that her kidnapping had proved that the knowledge was too dangerous for her to handle. The two women initially restrained Selina and attempted to remove the knowledge from her, but Zatanna refused at the last moment and ended up fighting Talia and saving Selina. Once Bruce Wayne reclaimed the mantle of the bat, he established Batman Incorporated, a global team of Batmen. Selina accompanied him on a mission to break into Doctor Sivana's armory, and later traveled with him to Tokyo in order to recruit a Japanese representative for Batman Inc. Catwoman teamed up with Batman to stop Harley Quinn from breaking the Joker out of Arkham Asylum. After defeating Harley and the Joker, Catwoman told Poison Ivy that they were no longer friends, this after Ivy drugged her in an attempt to uncover Batman's identity. Shortly after, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn escaped and set off to pursue revenge on Catwoman for leaving them behind. The two of them found Catwoman and fought her. While they were fighting, Catwoman said that she saw good in them and only wanted to help. Batman was about to arrest them, but Catwoman helped the two of them escape. Convergence Two separate versions of Catwoman were taken to Convergence, the pre-Zero Hour version and the Pre-Flashpoint Version. The pre-Zero Hour Metropolis and Pre-Flashpoint Gotham were taken to Convergence by Brainiac and they were domed for a year. Pre-Zero Hour Catwoman defeated Intergang members, rescued a scientist named Sally and encountered the Batman of Earth-22. She allied with the alternate Batman to fight Bruno Mannheim and defeated him. She was then shot by a civilian with a gun and laid wounded and possibly dead. Meanwhile, New Earth Selina met with Poison Ivy and helped her fight off some goons. When the dome went down, she saw that Harley Quinn had to fight Captain Carrot and went to get her. She then waited with Ivy for the results of Harley's fight. | Personality = | Powers = | Abilities = * : Selina is a gifted and accomplished athlete, with incredible acrobatic prowess. * : To pull off her many escapades, Catwoman often resorts to disguises and aliases. She once posed as an old lady in order to steal a valuable piece of jewelry while on a cruise ship. Later, she posed as a night club goer in order to get acquainted with its owners and return later to rob them. * : Catwoman has a strong affinity for cats. Feline species tend to flock to her, accepting her almost immediately, recognizing somehow that she is not an enemy but a friend. This allows her to calm injured cats, train them, befriend them, and form strong bonds with them. These animals will even sometimes come to her defense when she is attacked. This has proved most beneficial, especially when it has involved big cats. * : She was trained by the Armless Master in martial arts and by Wildcat in boxing and street-fighting. She is a dangerous, clever and resourceful fighter, known for precise, agile attacks and speedy getaways. Her formidable hand-to-hand combat skills are augmented by her cat-like speed, reflexes, balance, and flexibility. Catwoman has mastered the following martial arts styles: ** ** ** ** ** ** * : Catwoman often uses her feminine allure to distract or manipulate her male opponents. Her ability to seduce Batman has allowed her to evade his capture numerous times. * : Selina is as stealthy as any large cat. She has easily been able to sneak up on large groups of people and even other vigilantes on patrol. She shows marked prowess in this ability while she's on the prowl for her next job. * : Selina is a master thief, known throughout Gotham City for her burglary of cat-themed objects and/or gems and jewels of the highest quality. Hardly one to knock over a bank, Catwoman would rather break into the chairman's office and take his personal documents. | Strength = Catwoman possesses the peak human strength level of a woman her age, size and weight, in addition who engages in intensive regular exercise and combat training. Catwoman is capable of pressing up to twice her own weight (270 lbs). She is capable of swinging uninjured with a grapple or whip. | Weaknesses = | Equipment = * Catwoman Costume: The skintight costume features retractable razor-sharp claws in her gloves and spring-action climbing pitons in her boots. Catwoman's costume is designed to give her maximum flexibility and movement while providing her some anonymity, and stealth. Her mask covers her features, keeping her from instant recognition in her civilian identity. The material is a thick insulating cloth, protecting her from cold and wet conditions, while also being fire retardant. | Transportation = * Motorcycle: Catwoman occasionally uses a motorcycle for long-distance transportation, but generally prefers rooftop prowling for short distances. | Weapons = * : Catwoman's gloves and boots contain special retractable claws which are formed of a strong steel which extend from and retract into her gloved fingertips and boots when she triggers pressure switches. They can shred a bullet-proof vest, punch through an aluminum frame car door, or dig into porous surfaces to climb. * Whip: Catwoman is highly proficient in the use of the bullwhip. She employs a 12 foot long, black leather braided bullwhip which is normally carried on her person either in her boot, around her waist or in a small backpack. | Notes = * There is a large amount of circumstantial evidence that Selina Kyle is the biological daughter of Carmine and Louisa Falcone, who Louisa saved from death by smuggling from Italy to America for underground adoption -- enough evidence that Kyle herself believes it. However, it has never been conclusively proven. | Trivia = * Catwoman has had many nicknames in the past, some of them include: The Cat, The Feline Fatale, Plundering Kitten, Princess of Plunder and Madame Moderne. * Selina's alias, Irena Dubrovna, was inspired by the name of the main character in the 1942 film Cat People. | Recommended Reading = | Links = * Golden Age Catwoman biography page at the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe * Silver Age Catwoman biography page at the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe * Modern Catwoman biography page at the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe * }} Category:Injustice League members Category:Secret Society of Super-Villains members Category:Bruce Wayne's Love Interests Category:Birds of Prey members Category:Secret Society of Super-Villains I members Category:Injustice League I members Category:Salvation Run deportees Category:Female Furies members Category:Reformed Criminals